


Fallout U.S.E

by Revelliondoomslayer



Category: Fallout - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Fallout, Fear, Love, New Beginnings, Other, Post Nuclear War, Wasteland, fan fiction, the den, vault tech
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-21 11:05:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6049291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revelliondoomslayer/pseuds/Revelliondoomslayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>3 friends leave the vault in search of a distress signal from the other side of London.<br/>They encounter new never seen before creatures and places.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This is the life

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys hope you enjoy my fan fiction of fallout please leave a comment below and if you don't like it and don't have nothing productive to say please don't comment thank you.

FALLOUT  
BY M.W.R.SMITHFIELD

War. War never changes. October, 2077. The coalition with the United States of America was ultimately the fall of the United States of Europe.  
As tensions grew in the Middle East and Russia over weapons a new Cold War emerged. With China's alliance with Russia a stronghold to be reckoned with it was only a matter of time before the human race would ultimately destroy itself.

The end came as the nuclear bombs fell. All was destroyed.  
But the USE alliance with the USA also brought with it shared knowledge. The vaults.  
The USE also had many vaults built far under ground away from what was inevitably going to happen. Spread across Europe in undisclosed locations. They became home to doctors,scientists,politicians and soldiers, to ultimately give the human race a second chance of survival.

Many years past. Many generations too. Only now in 2277 after picking up a distress radio signal from another vault was it time to go out into the unknown. It is time.

 

CHAPTER 1 – THIS IS THE LIFE

Today was the day. The day all the vault dwellers had been waiting for. The wait was over and for Rane Harrison it was the beginning of a huge adventure.  
BOOM BOOM BOOM! “Rane Harrison!” BOOM BOOM BOOM! “Rane!” “Cmonnnn!”,” you there? Let me in I've got some important information for you sir.”  
Getting impatient the guard tries to look into the side window to catch a glimpse of any movement shielding the light from his view using his hands, Moving off through the corridors. Little did he know the captain was down on B wing with his pals Jen and Marc enjoying a couple of drinks before he heads out into the unknown. The laughter soon turned serious. Rane looked at his glass, swirling the drink inside around. Marc could see something was worrying him.  
“ you ok?” As he eased of the smiles.  
“ look you got to be scared, ain't no denying it Rane. It don't make you any less of a man”. Marc taps him on the shoulder.  
“on the plus side you got me with you”. Rane looks to Marc and then to Jen in canned delight.  
“What!...your coming with me into the wasteland?”  
“Yeahh man, got the all clear off the overseer and besides someone aught to teach you a thing or two about how to shoot” the three erupt into laughter only to be disturbed by the overseers assistant finally catching up to Rane.  
“Rane the overseer wishes to speak with you immediately and he also wants you too Marc”.  
Rane and Marc look at each other and set their drinks down on the table.  
“That will be all.” Rane says to the assistant saluting him. As they leave B-wing they are approached by Rane’s father who walks with them.  
“Hey son” he says worryingly.  
“I just want you to know…… Me and your mother, we…… Love you and we don't want you to get hurt out there. But we also know they chose the best possible man we have got to do the job”. Stopping Rane he turns to him.  
“You’re my only son, I want you back here, I want you……”  
Rane interrupts.  
“Look father il be back, I can handle myself”.  
Marc turns to Rane's father Smirking.  
“Hey hey hey mr Harrison what about me you wish me well don't you? Wish me back in one piece and all that?”  
Rane's father looks to Marc “I'm sure you'll both be fine, just make sure you've got each other's back at all times. Good luck boys”.  
He says patting them both on the shoulder.

“The overseers door. Steel and as cold as ever”. Rane thought as he wrapped his knuckles on it.  
“Enter!” The overseer shouts from inside.  
Rane reaches for the finger scanner and places his thumb on it followed by a beep and the door slides open.  
“now we all know why we are here today. No one has ever left this vault since we got here” the overseer stands up and drops a holotape on the desk in front of Rane.  
“Listen to the holotape Rane”.  
Rane picks up the holotape and places it in his pip-boy.  
The tape reveals static noise for a couple of seconds and then a voice is heard slightly in the background.  
“to all who can hear this we need your help. I know this is a shot in the dark but we have been breached our vault is under attack we need help I repeat we need help!”. The voice of this woman was scared, although in control.  
The overseer looks at Rane sternly.  
“We tracked the signal down to central London, as you know we are some way away from there you will need help and so that is why I assigned Marc to go with you as a scientist I want him to take field samples and catalogue a number of things you encounter whilst out there so that we know what to expect and thus be better equipped”  
Rane interrupts.  
“ your making us sound like Guinea pigs here overseer”.  
Marc smirks.  
“ Look Rane” the overseer says sympathetically.  
“I for one would not want to risk my best soldier and scientist if I didn't think in the long run it would help our vault, using your knowledge of the wasteland may even let generations to come willingly leave the vault if they needed too”.  
Rane looks to Marc.  
“Rane. Marc. You will return no doubt as heroes of this vault, making history”. The overseer beginning to look desperate.  
Rane looks at the holotape in his hand. Thinking about his training the survival footage and general excitement about the unknown.  
“ok let's do this”.  
“ok, good and thank you now head over to the barracks to get well equipped and not forgetting… Good luck men”. The overseer claps his hands together once in excitement and sits in his chair.

Rane and Marc exit the overseers office only to be pulled up by Jen.  
“Soooooooo… What did my father have to say?”.  
“Er nothing much just about us making history and helping the vault oh and the fact we are literally going into the waste land blind and probably under equipped as no one seems to know anything about what we could actually be up against out there” Rane looks at Jen and sighs.  
“And I'm well..basically picking up mutated rabbit shit and keeping tight hold of it” Marc says with a nervous laugh.  
“I want to come with you”. Jen says.  
“I want to come with you guys it's always been us three, always. I can't let you too go and have all the fun without me, remember the time old man norbin got locked in the bathroom and we climbed through the vents to get to him inside and the time we cleared out the rad roach infestation in the cellar, boy we sure kicked their asses”.  
“You can't Jen it's too dangerous”. Rane says lowering his head.  
“Your father would never allow it and you know that” Marc says.  
“Please you guys remember that old film we watched the one about the kids who go on that adventure through caves and booby traps they stick it out together”. Jen says excitedly.  
Rane looks up at her seeing how much she really wants the adventure knowing this may be the last time they ever see each other together.  
“Look…ok. We need to get your father out of his office do you still know his password for his terminal?”.  
“Yes yes”. She says as the adrenaline flows through her body.  
“Good good, Marc I need to you to try to get the overseer out of his office and make sure it's a good reason too not like the last one ok?”  
“Ok no problem Rane” he says smiling.  
“The only way you can escape with us is if you gain access to your fathers secret passage under his desk and as me and Marc are about to exit the vault you run through the vault door with us no doubt the overseers guards won't want to risk getting locked out so ultimately they will have no choice but to let us go”. Jen looks at him. “Lets do this”.

After saying his goodbyes to all the vault and to his parents Rane headed down to the armoury where him and Marc got suited up in vault tech field outfits as they didn't really know what they were going up against they were handed a 10mm pistol each for a side arm and a 308mm combat rifle both had never been used before and so were in tip top condition. They gathered medical supplies including stimpaks and a doctors bag which had inside medical equipment for the worst of injuries.  
“Now for phase 1” Rane says to Marc who nods and walks off.  
As Rane equips extra things knowing Jen is coming too Marc is well on the way to the overseers office. Marc passes Jen outside the overseers office and gives her a nod he then proceeds to knock on the door. “Enter”! The overseer shouts. Marc places his thumb on the scanner opening the door.  
“Ahhh a hero in waiting, your not having second thoughts are you Marc?” The overseer asks.  
“Not at all overseer in fact I wanted you to share a toast with me”. The overseer looks at Marc slightly concerned.  
“Er ok Marc, why not after all I can't see any harm in it and as your father isn't around anymore ,rest his soul I'm sure he wouldn't mind me taking over the duty after all you are a son of the vault”.  
he walks over to the cabinet and reaches for his home brewed whiskey getting out two glasses and sitting them on the desk pouring out the murky solution.  
“To mankind” Marc says.  
“Yes a good one Marc. To mankind” he takes a swig and in seconds is asleep knocked clean out only it wasn't what Marc had in mind as the second he tipped the drink up into the air and into his mouth came Jen running out of the shadows with a pipe and smacked him round the head followed by. “Sorry dad but this is necessary”.  
She slips behind the desk and on to the terminal as Marc makes his way out of the room and to the vault exit.  
He meets up with Rane.  
“Operation sleeping violet went horribly wrong” Marc says catching his breath.  
“Kind of turned into operation medical attention required if you get me”.  
As they pass through the huge vault door Jen emerges from a tunnel kicking through a panel. As the guys notice her they turn and grab her making for the waste land.  
As they run with each other Rane turns to Marc and Jen.  
“Together we will always be”  
As they got to the end the natural bright light of the sun hurt their eyes as they were only used to artificial lighting they turn and look back only to see the vault door close shut. This was it.


	2. New world

Fallout  
By MWRSmithfield

Chapter 2. New world.

Rane,Jen and Marc look out in awe at the waste land across a horizon of vast destruction. The sky grey with tints of purple. Smoke from campfires which add to the smog in the air light up areas scattered like lost stars as far as the eye can see. Jen places her hand on her nose covering it to block the smell of burnt flesh and ash. They look around not really knowing what to expect, the Great War had completely changed the outlook of this once bustling city. The city they had only read about or watched old footage of. A nice looking place. They could only of imagined what this place would look like back in the vault and it is a lot worse than they could possibly of conjured up.

“Hell comes to mind” Rane says switching his pip-boy to radio to track the signal.  
“Marc”.  
No reply.  
“Marc”. Rane says louder.  
Marc was stood just staring as a tear rolled down his cheek.  
“Marc you ok?” Rane says turning towards him.  
Marc blinks then squats down and picks up some dirt with fragments of ash and opens his hand to let it fall back down to the earth.  
“Yeah, yeah I'm sorry I'm just in shock, you know just not quite with it at the minute” as he stands back up.  
Jen on the other hand walked to the edge of the rock they were stood on and looked down.  
“We got everything guys?” She says moving back away from the edge.  
“yeah should do” Rane says tossing over her rucksack.  
“Check through it and let me know if theirs anything else you need”.  
They all sit on the ground to share out supplies giving Marc the medical supplies and Jen the food. They all have a weapon as Rane gave his 10mm pistol to Jen and he kept hold of the 308 rifle.  
Rane's pip-boy begins to bleep. He switches it to map to see which direction the signal is coming from.  
“Ok so it looks to me like we need to head west for a fair bit and then move southwest through the capital”. He says signalling the way.  
“Ok we ready guys” Jen says in excitement.  
“You ready Marc?” Rane says.  
“yeah I'm good man, where to first?”. Marc says as they gather around the pip-boy.  
“There's a place called Camden just west of here when we get to there we can settle down for the night get some rest and eat ok?” Rane says looking at marc and Jen.  
Jen sets of first like its some race to find something new.  
She has always been like that since the friends can remember always wanting to be ahead of the gang to see what's going on. Like a mother would, checking things out before letting her kids go on.”Sounds good to me guys let's head out” she says already 20 feet ahead.

Walking through the wasteland the dark wasteland they hear noises in the distance of bullets like firecrackers.  
The ground is boggy underneath with a hard layer over the top but on shallow areas you can put your foot straight through and into the unknown mush underneath. There vault field suits are lined with led so radiation isn't much of a problem and if it ever got to serious levels they have the correct medication to deal with it. One things for sure they knew to expect radiation.   
Scattered all around them are reminiscence of pre war life in London. Old houses half blown down with wallpaper still visible inside as well as furniture and ornaments characteristics of whoever owned the property before Still lingering on untouched only covered with grey dust.  
“You can almost imagine…” Rane is interrupted by a scuffle from an alley way.  
“Shhhhh shhhhh, quiet” he says putting his index finger on his lips.  
“Move over there” pointing to the end of the alley. They keep low trying to make very little noise whilst clutching their pistols Jen and Marc take one side and Rane takes the other.   
The noise getting louder as they get into position. Slimy, gristly crunching.  
Rane peeks around the corner ever so slightly trying to keep himself from being detected.  
He looks on squinting then he winces and pulls back in.  
Jen and Marc look over to Rane who shakes his head signalling his hand for them to stay.  
The noise is making Marc feel sick but he gulps and watches on as Rane slides down the wall and pulls his rifle from around his back placing one knee down and one foot firmly in place on the ground he then brings his rifle up to his face. his hands shaking his finger squeezing the trigger.  
BANG!   
BANG!  
He lowers his rifle and signals to move in.  
Jen and Marc do as commanded only to view a horror product of radiation. An oversized fox like animal the size of a Alsatian dog its fur a deep orange with blood soaked mouth with pieces of flesh hanging from its crooked teeth shot in the head twice laying over a corpse of a wasteland settler hollowed out by the beast.  
They approach with caution.  
“What in the hell is that thing” Jen says.  
“It's incredible but horrifying all at the same time” Marc says pulling out his field sampling kit from his rucksack.  
“I don't know but expect a lot worse than this, we got to keep on our toes who knows if this thing wasn't feeding we could have been next on the menu” Rane says standing over the mess.  
Marc takes a sample of fur and takes some blood he then removes a small camera from his bag and takes a picture and catalogs it number 0001.  
Rane looks on to the end of the alley way a murky silhouette of a building on a corner stands with boarded up windows and a sign saying traders welcome.  
“You got what you need Marc”?. Rane says looking to the building in the distance.  
“C’mon Marc hurry up, why don't you just put the whole thing in your bag and we can get moving”. Jen says stepping over the hollowed out corpse.  
“Ha ha yeah funny Jen, il have you know this is serious scientific work I'm doing here”. Marc says gathering his tools up into his backpack.  
“Let's move out guys I want to check that place out just over there maybe we could find some information out that can help us out here”. Rane places his rifle around his back and heads towards the building with Jen racing ahead as usual.

They come out of the opening to a building a deep red colour with a beer smell in the air with the words “the worlds end” above the door, an old public house before the Great War popular with tourists to the Camden area of London.

“fitting for the situation don't ya think” Rane says as they cross the road hopping over debris and pieces of rubble.

The outside of the building and the surrounding streets were quiet apart from the constant sound of guns firing in the distance but still too quiet. They approach the front door.  
Jen looks into a crack in the wood boarding covering the window to the left. Marc turns around holding his pistol to cover them from anything behind and Rane tries the door. It opens with a gentle creek. He peeks inside. Theirs one light in the corner just lighting up the main area Marc follows in behind closing the door.  
“Stay quiet” Rane whispers.  
A man comes from a back door whistling Royal Britannia sharpening a kitchen knife.  
Jen steps on a broken floorboard releasing an almighty thud.  
The man with a blood soaked apron on stops whistling and looks towards Jen who went down the right hand side of the open area whilst Rane and Marc went the left, the more shaded area of the room.

“Why hello there little missy, you lost?” He says with a gentle cockney voice.  
“Is their anything I can help you with”? He says whilst pulling his knife up the sharpener one last time.  
“I was looking to trade” she says nervously.  
Rane and Marc stay hidden in the shadows watching on.  
“Trade you say?, why don't you join me I'm about to serve up lunch” he says directing her to the back room door.  
“no erm I'm ok thanks just wanted to trade”.  
The man moves towards her with the knife in his hand readied.  
“I insist”.  
He lunges forward towards Jen.  
BANG BANG BANG!  
Just as the man was about to swing his knife towards Jen, Rane and Marc fired shots from the darkness killing the man instantly and throwing his dead weight body onto Jen.  
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh” Jen screams as she tries to push off the overweight man, Marc runs over to Jen and helps move the body off her.  
“That was a close one” Marc says helping Jen up from the ground.  
“I don't think this place is a trading post at all, I mean there's absolutely nothing of interest behind this counter”.  
Rane say searching through the boxes and drawers.  
“Just dust and burnt out pieces of paper”.

Jen dusts herself off.  
“What's out the back then”?.  
Rane turns to the back door.  
“Be on the ready their could be more people out the back, let's move”.  
They move through the door with their pistols ready with Rane leading with the rifle.  
Moving around the rooms they come to realise the man they had killed wasn't any old threatening wastelander but a cannibal. Laying around in some of the rooms were bones, human bones and remains. They move on to the end of a corridor were there's a door open a crack with some light beefing out from inside.  
They enter the room to see a man tied up to a table in the middle of the room with buckets underneath. He is gagged.  
They circle around the table as the man opens his eyes in delight.  
“Mmmmmm mm mmmmmm mmmmmm”.  
He says shaking.  
Rane pulls off the gag.  
“Please please you got to get me out of here there's a mad man and he wants to eat me please I beg you” he says.  
“We took care of him” Rane says. Marc has a look at the man.  
“What's your name sir?, you need to keep calm your in shock”.  
“Ok ok ok” the man says breathing deeply.  
“Zuriekel”  
“Ok I'm going to take a look at you and check you over to see if your ok.” Marc says.  
“What? Just get me the hell out of here already I'm fine I'm fine” Zuriekel says hurrying the situation on.  
“Ok I'm going to untie you but we need you help, I want to know where in the wasteland we can rest up safely and also which areas to avoid”. Rane says looking towards Jen then Marc.  
“Rest up safely huh are you kidding me I don't think I know a single person who sleeps a wink out here it's ok for you vault kind with your warm beds and hot chocolate out here you got to have eyes in the back of your head and your head on a fucking swivel but yeah I can show you a settlement not far from here which is “safe” I guess”.  
Rane releases the man.  
“Thank you Zuriekel”.  
“Hey look it's no problem I got to head their anyway CAUGH I got to get me some chems”. He says under his breath.  
“Lead the way” Jen says.  
Rane and Marc look at each other in surprise by what Jen just said.  
They head out of the public house. The worlds end passing the dead man on the way.  
Zuriekel spitting at him as he lay motionless on the ground.  
Rane turns to Zuriekel and says “so what's this settlement called?”  
Zuriekel smiles “the Den”.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Crimson

After leaving the worlds end Rane, Marc, Jen and zuriekel head west just a few hundred feet through the waste streets of Camden passing boarded up shops, houses and more pubs only the walls of these places were covered in blood. Old sleeping bags on the floors with burnt out camps scattered in the street.  
“What happened here Zuriekel, was their a battle of some sort?” Marc says looking all around.  
Zuriekel kicks part of a brick in front of them and rubs his forehead.  
“Well you see, there's a legend that goes like this. . .   
apparently there's a huge beast like thing called “the Crimson”, well so the locals say, personally I haven't seen it but a few weeks ago their was a few settlers here camping for the night and we'll come morning there wasn't”. He shrugs his shoulders.  
“But there's like 7-8 campfires here there must have been about 25-30 settlers?”.  
Zuriekel looks at the 3 of them. “Look I don't fucking know what happened I've seen a lot of shit out here to last you vault kind a lifetime all I know is they were here then they vanished, well I say vanished they left there blood behind”. He laughs nervously.  
Rane,Marc and Jen look at each other in confusion.  
“We better get a move on” Rane says fixing the position of his backpack.

As night rolled in the Gang came to a bridge with the words Camden painted on it although the “cam” had been scraped off and replaced with “the” making it The Den.  
The whole underside of the bridge was barricaded up with a huge metal door in the centre and at the top of the bridge a little balcony overhanging.  
As they approach the door a voice rattles down echoing off the metal sheeting.  
“Make one more fucking move and your fucking dead bruv”.  
Zuriekel looks up to the balcony.  
“Calm the fuck down its me”.  
“Who's fucking me bruv?” The balcony guard shouts down.  
“And who the fuck are them cunts your wiv?” As he cocks his gun.  
Zuriekel sighs and turns to Rane, Marc and Jen.”I'm sorry about this, this guy he's a ball breaker a fucking gaff a fuck up, 2 seconds”.  
Zuriekel turns and looks up. “It's me Zuriekel and these are my friends we just came to trade so stop being a fucking twat and let us in”.  
Silence for a few seconds.  
“Ok ok ok keep your knickers on, no shit though or il fuck you up personally”. The guard says lowering his gun.  
The huge metal door screeches as its pulled up by a huge crane above the bridge.  
The smell of hot food cooking like a Chinese market of some sort although the food was probably not at all like Chinese but the smell was fantastic.  
As they walked under the bridge they couldn't believe the sheer size of this place each side of the street filled with market stalls with settlers everywhere with lights stringing from each stall like Christmas decorations.  
“Roll up roll up try some of my fried meats only I can't tell you what they are because ya know it’s a secret” one man shouts from behind a griddle flipping patty like meats.  
“You lot after some clothes? Can I interest you in my wears? This stock will last you a life time if you can live past tomorrow even then someone will steal it from you its that good!”. An old woman cackles.  
“No thank you we’re good” Rane says walking around like a tourist.  
Zuriekel walks through the maze of settlers greeting them.  
“Ello mate, hi, how's it going bruv.”  
He stops and turns to Rane.  
“look I'm going to head off over here to go get myself a pick- me-up il meet you by the Locke hotel in about an hour, it's just there”.  
“Yeah erm ok”. Rane says.  
“So what do we do know and were do we go for an hour?” Jen says to the others.  
“Yeah I mean we have no money, in fact what do they use for currency around here anyway?” Marc says bemused.  
“Right well we don't need food we got our field rations so let's find a quiet spot amongst all this and have a break ok?”. Rane says standing on his tip-toes to see over the top to a secluded spot.  
“Ahhhh there we go follow me”. He says moving off into the crowd. Jen follows closely but Marc begins to fall back through the crowds of people and when he finally moves out from the crowd he falls into an open tent in to the middle of some kind of ritual.  
“What the hell is going on here?”. He says laid on the ground in the middle of a circle.  
One man turns and says “relax man just hit the high”. To which he then takes a huge breath in and inhales a toxic fume known as jet and exhales it into Marc's mouth.  
The fumes creep into his mouth and down into his lungs as a glowing burn turns into a tingle in his brain and his eyes shut slowly and his head lays onto a comforting surface, his body a temple his mind is released. He sleeps.  
“Where the hell is Marc” Rane says.  
“We must of lost him in the crowds just wait here for a bit and hopefully he will show up, I mean this place is well guarded and I'm sure he will be fine”. Jen says encouragingly.  
They both sit down and discuss what they have already seen and been through in such short time in the wasteland.  
Rane checks his pip-boy and plays the hollow tape again.  
“I wonder what is breaching the vault”?.  
“Already we have seen enough to paint a disturbing picture of what could possibly be there”. He says turning of the pip-boy.  
“It's exciting isn't it”. Jens says looking to the blacker than black sky and sighing.  
“We should probably make a move to the hotel”. Rane says.  
They know Marc knows where the hotel is located and after eating they set off just a short walk to the Locke hotel situated next to the Camden Locke.

Marc opens his eyes. He checks the time and realises only 20 minutes had past to him though whatever happened to him felt like a whole day had gone. He looks around and picks up a bag and climbs out of the tent which had only one man left who lay sleeping.  
Marc gets out the tent feeling wiser for some reason feeling like wherever his inner minds eye had taken him he had learned a lot but unfortunately can't remember a thing.  
He looks towards the Locke hotel raised higher than anything else around the settlement-well apart from the crane that hoists the metal entrance gate aloft-and makes his way through the crowds.

Marc finally gets to the hotel and meets up with the others.

“Marc where have you been you had us worried?” Jen says gripping his shoulder.  
“Honestly I'm not sure but I need to rest can we get a room now please”. Marc says still adjusting his eyes to light inside the hotel.  
“Well we're glad your ok Marc”. Rane says patting Marc on the back.  
As they approach the desk they know they have no currency to pay for a room and hope the check in clerk would give them the benefit of the doubt and offer them a room to stay in.

“Ello and welcome to the hotel Locke the only place where…  
You know what fuck it ya wanna room or what?”. The clerk said.  
“wooooooow is that a real vault suit?”  
“Yeah yeah it is we have come from the vault just east of here and are new to the wasteland unfortunately we have no money to pay for a room and were hoping you could ya know… Help us out a bit”.  
“You cheeky cunt who do you think I am a fucking charity? Nah I'm just kidding ya matey il sort you a room it ain't much but enough to get ya head down the night”. The Gang feel a huge relief.  
“Just keep it on the low down or jack will have my ass handed to me ok , I feel privileged to speak wiv you guys I don't get out much from ere and certainly don't see the wasteland so you guys coming here it kind of gives me a sense of hope you know”. The clerk says excitedly.  
And at that very word “hope” being said a huge bang and screams fill the air in the hotel lobby and the ground rumbles underneath their feet.  
“Crimson” The clerk says with fear.  
He runs to the back of the lobby and Rane, Marc and Jen run to the entrance to try and catch a glimpse of this so called beast as they approach the doorway the crane that opened the huge gate smashed through the right side of the building the three of them jumped to the left and under a lobby table as the crane buckled and twisted into a neutral position the visibility had been massively reduced inside the hotel lobby due to the thick swirls of dust circulating from the crane.  
“Shhhhh keep down and keep quiet” Rane says pulling his rifle out to his front.  
The screams faded.  
Silence.  
Boom.boom.boom.boom the huge footstep sounds got closer to the hotel. Marc sneaks a look only he just can't quite see through the dust.  
The noise of cogs turning machinery working and Pistons fizzing whilst the footsteps become almost ear bursting it's so close. The sounds coming from this machine or beast or both was already deafening and then it releases a huge high pitched noise which forces everyone around to cover their ears.  
Rane putting his hands on his ears squeezing tightly and gritting his teeth together his skull rattling under the high pressure sound then silence.  
A red laser pierces the dust falling cutting it up as it searches the lobby until it finds a target the clerk. A dark shadow in the shape of an arm only the size of a tree and as thick as a single decked bus smashes through the doorway sweeping past Rane, Marc and Jen as glass drops in font of them. The noise of cogs and machinery clouding out the screams of the clerk whizzing past and the sound of jet turbines firing up then an almighty boom which moves everything in the lobby to the far end even Rane, Marc and Jen get thrown 10 feet across the floor. Then silence once more.  
“Holy shit holy shit what was that thing?” Marc says whimpering.  
“I want to go back to the vault I can't do this anymore” jen says crying.  
They go out through the whole the arm made and look down at the market place.  
“The whole place is flattened” Rane says in disbelief.  
People emerge from rubble and hiding places only to view the destruction of their homes and businesses.  
“Everything gone” one settler says with her head in her hands.  
Where the bustling market square was was now a cluster of blood and gore. Bodies mutilated. The stench of death and the taste of iron in the mouth highlights the massacre and the scale.  
They sit down on a broken down stall.  
“We got to find out what that thing was and if we can destroy it, we got to do justice for these people I won't lay down and die or let you guys die together we fight this invisible enemy this Crimson, together you with me?”  
Rane says putting his hand on Marc and jens shoulder.  
Jen sniffles and rubs the dust from her eyes “of course we are Rane, of course we are”.


	4. Tales of old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the destruction of the den Jen finds some info from an old man which is key to propelling the guys in a new direction.

Chapter 4 – tales of old.

The den was left battered. The settlers left defeated and the thought of rebuilding everything exhausting.  
Marc set up a Med-bay treating the badly injured to the west of the settlement.   
Inside the Locke hotel in a room left of the lobby -which was totally destroyed By the Crimson- Jen set up a recovery centre for people with minor injuries like shock and cuts.

“There's just no hope anymore, I've lost everything”. An old man says whilst rubbing his dirty hands together.  
Jen places a cup of water in his crooked hand.  
“You can't give up surely, I know everything seems lost but you must continue on, you must not let the Crimson win”.  
The old man looks at the water inside the cup.  
“You just don't understand do you”? He says softly.  
“The Crimson is bigger than what you think”.  
Jen takes a seat next to the man.  
“The Crimson isn't a beast in the way everybody thinks it is, you see many years ago I was a scavvy in the wastes when times were really tight anyway I was walking just on the outskirts of the business district in the centre of London when I seen a huge machine, kinda like a spider but stood up straight and the thing it was easily 20 feet tall of steel with heavy duty cog mechanisms on every part”.  
Jen moves forward and scrunches her brow.  
“It looked as though it had a huge jet like engine on its back but anyway as I tried to move closer to get a proper look in a group of men in long black coats came from an underground shaft a couple metres away from the machine they were very peculiar looking themselves wearing fedora hats with masks and a tank on their back connecting to the mask with tubes, what I'm getting at is you see the Crimson isn't one thing it's a group, a clan just”.  
The old man is interrupted by Jen   
“Just a clan and they control this machine as though an illusion of one beast like a thing which nobody gets a site of because of its devastating power, wow this is big news I need to tell Rane”.  
The old man stands up and moves to the window again looking at his cup.  
“I'm afraid they could be a whole lot bigger now than them many many years ago when I spotted them honestly I hope you get em kid just be carful”.   
Jen stands up and moves to the window next to the old man and looks out over the market square.  
“I promise we will get to the bottom of this and try to make the wasteland fear free”.  
The old man stares out the window then looks to the ground in disbelief.  
Jen places her hand on his back reassuringly then leaves.

Rane's job was one for a strong stomach but for wastelanders they see such brutality 4-5 times a week needless to say Rane had seen his fair share of old horror films in the vault.  
Picking up pieces of human remains and trying to match up the body parts so they could at least give some settlers and merchants a proper burial although ending up in a mix and match style as blood stained clothes were hard to differentiate.

Jen comes walking over.  
“Hey I've got some vital information from an old man up in the hotel I was treating about the Crimson”.  
Rane puts down an arm next to a body with similar clothes on wiping his hands on his vault suit.  
“Ok what is it”?.  
“The Crimson isn't a beast it's a whole clan like a group a wannabe new order, the big thing that attacked was a machine they use, a weapon of pure destruction and we could dramatically weaken them if we could sabotage it somehow”.  
Rane looks at her like the mission has just got a lot harder now they are facing an army with a huge weapon in their Arsenal.  
“Well where would we start Jen? Did he give you a location”?  
“The business district of central London was where he had seen the machine stood still”. Jen says.  
“We should start by looking around that area first for any clues”.  
Rane looks to his pip-boy and walks towards a tower scaffold and begins to climb. He reaches the top of the 30 feet high scaffold tied up to the barrier around the settlement and looks south.  
On the horizon stretching high above anything else in London was known in pre war as the Shard a huge glass skyscraper reaching up to the heavens looking still to be in contact and not too badly damaged.   
Rane looks at his pip-boy once more then to the shard.  
“We travel south to that tall building and we investigate the area surrounding it and question the locals on information about the Crimson, but first we need to get stronger weapons and more ammo”.  
Jen smiles as she looks up to Rane on the scaffolding.  
“Il find Marc and tell him the plan”.  
She shouts up, then turns to walk away.

The 3 of them are all packed up and ready to go leaving the den in some sort of order for the settlers to continue rebuilding.  
They look up to the bridge and step on the huge heavy duty metal door -which was just tossed to one side by the machine the Crimson used-they stand and look back before looking out to the wasteland.  
“Let's make a move guys”. Rane says encouragingly.  
Although the loss of so many people in such a short space of time has seriously affected Rane, Marc and Jen they soldier on heading south.

As they reach the end of Camden and move into Westminster they approach a caravan.

“Would you believe it a cow with 2 fucking heads. Wow!”  
Marc says in absolute shock.  
“I do believe it Marc we are In post nuclear warzone which mutated things with a shit load of radiation”. Rane says jokingly.

The caravan was guarded by a mercenary heavily armed.  
“Don't come any closer”.  
Another man came from the other side of the cow.  
“Chill iron they are vault dwellers here in the wasteland on holiday, I'm sorry about my friend here he is a little defensive of me. I'm max Linton and this is iron and here is miss daisy although don't call her a cow she will be highly offended she is a Brahmin ok, now what can I do you for?”.  
“We need to buy better weapons and ammo”. Rane says looking at iron.  
“But we have no money” jens says.  
“Well what do you have that interests me and maybe we could make a deal to start the ball rolling”. Max says looking them all up and down.   
Marc pulls his backpack from around his neck and opens it.  
To everyone's surprise it is filled to the top with jet.  
“Whooooooooo there son, now that is interesting. I say, il give you 20 caps per jet boyo. Max says rubbing his hands together.   
One thing for sure is the wasteland is home to chem heads in every stretch of the imagination and thus making it a huge score for both parties. Seller and user.  
Marc looks inside the bag and remembers leaving the tent and picking up a bag similar to his.  
“I…I…I've picked up the wrong bag the supplies are gone the catalogue gone too”.  
Rane takes the bag from Marc.  
“There's got to be about 40 in there so that's 800 caps right”.  
Max works it out for a second.  
“Aye lad your blob on,here's your 800 caps”.  
The jingle of caps all to familiar to max as he hands over his loot.  
He then proceeds to turn daisy around revealing a whole load of guns strapped to the side of her.  
“Now we can get down to the real business right?”  
Rane approaches instantly taken by a 50cal silenced sniper with a customised paint job.  
“Ahhh the 50 she's got a hardened base with ported barrel il even chuck in the stand for commando style oh oh and I've got some armour piercing rounds for her too il chuck in n’all”. Max says it like he says it 15 times a day.  
“Condition isn't all that but she's good for a good while now 400 caps she's yours”.  
Rane gives him the 400 and removes the 50 from daisy carefully.  
Jen then receives the 308 from Rane.  
“Ahhhh you boy the jet head”. Max says looking to Marc.  
“I'm not a jet head it was a simple mistake”. Marc reacts.  
“Whatever, you look like the type who knows explosives and science surrounding it let me interest you in some specially made bottle cap mines,, only these are sticky and triggered by you. 50 caps a piece and their yours.””  
Rane tosses marc the sack of caps.  
“Il take 4 and the rest I want stimpaks please”. Marc says.  
“Now we all done here we can get moving on thank you for your custom and have a nice day”. Max, iron and daisy proceed.  
“Let's rest up and eat” Rane says directing them over to a bus shelter.  
They lay out rolls of foam they have attached to jens backpack underneath the shelter of the bus stop and gather up some rocks and pieces of dry wood to form a campfire. After eating some supplies they had they all layer down to rest.  
“How on earth did you get 800 caps worth of jet Marc?”   
Rane says as they all erupt into laughter.  
“Short but kinda long story Rane” Marc laughs.


End file.
